If the gear doesn't have a shoulder that establishes the correct end play, you'll need to press the gear onto the cam with a feeler gauge or something similar between the gear and the plate to keep it from getting too tight. It sounds like that plate is supposed to work with a shoulder on the timing gear a few thousandths thicker than the thrust plate, to establish the proper front-to-back clearance.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
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